The Forgotten
The day wears on…
We push through the woods, making good time.
Towards noon, we stop to eat before a shrine hewn from an ancient, perished oak. Smooth with age, the shrine’s carving depicts a wild-eyed man with a fox's smile, adorned with leaves and flowers. The identity of the figure is not clear. Perhaps this is the king of some forgotten realm, or the leader of some long-dead cult. Whatever it is, we feel drawn to His ancient altar.
As we eat, we find ourselves flooded with odd thoughts — images from a strange time, glimpsed through a curtain of leaves. It is as if we are seeing for ourselves the memories of this strange shrine. We feel compelled to speak them aloud.
The Challenge
The Forgotten challenges you to channel the shrine’s memories.
The Reader begins the round by saying: “I saw the memories of the tree. It was witness to…” The traveller then describes, in one or two words, something the shrine observed in its thousand-year history.
Moving clockwise, each subsequent traveller must then take it in turns to repeat what the previous traveller said, then add a memory to the list.
The game ends when any traveller fails to list a memory correctly.
For example, the first traveller might say: “I saw the memories of the tree. It was witness to a terrible murder.” The next traveller might then say: “I saw the memories of the tree. It was witness to a terrible murder, and a wedding.”
Success. If the travellers list at least six memories before a traveller forgets, the Challenge is passed.
Failure. If the travellers list fewer memories than six before a traveller forgets, then the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the last traveller to recall correctly wins the Challenge. They receive the Blessing of the Forgotten.
If the Challenge is failed, all travellers suffer the Curse of the Forgotten. Place the Forgotten’s card in a designated area reserved for Curses. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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Blessings and Bargains symbolise the support of a spirit of the Elder Wood. Both offer protection against death for the traveller who wins them.
Blessings. When a spirit is pleased, it might grant its special protection to one traveller. Spirits who have bestowed a member of the party with their Blessing travel invisibly with them and will help to protect them when they reach the Heart of the Wood.
Travellers who win a Blessing should place the Blessing behind their Character Card so that the spirit's name and number are still visible.
Bargains. Sometimes, instead of granting its Blessing to a traveller, a spirit might instead offer a conditional protection called a Bargain. Bargains symbolise a trade between spirit and traveller; the spirit protects the traveller, but its influence affects the traveller's behaviour. The traveller must obey the Bargain rules written on the spirit's card so long as they possess the Bargain. In return, the spirit will convert its Bargain to a Blessing in the Heart of the Wood, thus helping the traveller survive.
Travellers who win a Bargain should place the Bargain card face-up to one side of their Character Card, so that they can read the card's Bargain rules.
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When a spirit is displeased by the party, it will lay its Curse upon them. Curses have dire consequences. The more Curses a party gathers, the more lives will be claimed in the Heart of the Wood. Furthermore, if a party incurs three Curses, the Wood's spirits will reject them and they will be forced to flee for their lives, ending the game.
When you incur a Curse, place it in a designated area of the table so that all travellers are aware of it.
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————As we finish our meal, the strange surge of memories abates. Disturbed, we rise and push on — but the shrine’s wicked smile seems to pursue us through the trees.
Re-form the deck before continuing.